Frontiers in Public Health (Nov 2021)
Application of SARS-CoV-2 Serology to Address Public Health Priorities
- Amy C. Sherman,
- Amy C. Sherman,
- Teresa Smith,
- Yerun Zhu,
- Kaitlin Taibl,
- Jessica Howard-Anderson,
- Taylor Landay,
- Nora Pisanic,
- Jennifer Kleinhenz,
- Jennifer Kleinhenz,
- Trevor W. Simon,
- Daniel Espinoza,
- Neena Edupuganti,
- Skyler Hammond,
- Nadine Rouphael,
- Huifeng Shen,
- Jessica K. Fairley,
- Srilatha Edupuganti,
- Jaime A. Cardona-Ospina,
- Jaime A. Cardona-Ospina,
- Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales,
- Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales,
- Lakshmanane Premkumar,
- Jens Wrammert,
- Rick Tarleton,
- Scott Fridkin,
- Scott Fridkin,
- Christopher D. Heaney,
- Erin M. Scherer,
- Matthew H. Collins
Affiliations
- Amy C. Sherman
- Division of Infectious Diseases, The Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Amy C. Sherman
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Teresa Smith
- Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Yerun Zhu
- Division of Infectious Diseases, The Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Kaitlin Taibl
- Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Jessica Howard-Anderson
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Taylor Landay
- Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Nora Pisanic
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Jennifer Kleinhenz
- Division of Infectious Diseases, The Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Jennifer Kleinhenz
- Division of Infectious, Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Trevor W. Simon
- Division of Infectious Diseases, The Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Daniel Espinoza
- Division of Infectious Diseases, The Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Neena Edupuganti
- Division of Infectious Diseases, The Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Skyler Hammond
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Nadine Rouphael
- Division of Infectious Diseases, The Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Huifeng Shen
- Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
- Jessica K. Fairley
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Srilatha Edupuganti
- Division of Infectious Diseases, The Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Jaime A. Cardona-Ospina
- Grupo de Investigación Biomedicina, Faculty of Medicine, Fundación Universitaria Autónoma de las Américas, Pereira, Colombia
- Jaime A. Cardona-Ospina
- 0Emerging Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Group, Sci-Help, Pereira, Colombia
- Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales
- Grupo de Investigación Biomedicina, Faculty of Medicine, Fundación Universitaria Autónoma de las Américas, Pereira, Colombia
- Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales
- 1Master of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima, Peru
- Lakshmanane Premkumar
- 2Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Jens Wrammert
- 3Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Rick Tarleton
- Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
- Scott Fridkin
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Scott Fridkin
- 4Georgia Emerging Infections Program, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Christopher D. Heaney
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Erin M. Scherer
- Division of Infectious Diseases, The Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Matthew H. Collins
- Division of Infectious Diseases, The Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.744535
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 9
Abstract
Background: Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 can be detected by various testing platforms, but a detailed understanding of assay performance is critical.Methods: We developed and validated a simple enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect IgG binding to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2, which was then applied for surveillance. ELISA results were compared to a set of complimentary serologic assays using a large panel of clinical research samples.Results: The RBD ELISA exhibited robust performance in ROC curve analysis (AUC> 0.99; Se = 89%, Sp = 99.3%). Antibodies were detected in 23/353 (6.5%) healthcare workers, 6/9 RT-PCR-confirmed mild COVID-19 cases, and 0/30 non-COVID-19 cases from an ambulatory site. RBD ELISA showed a positive correlation with neutralizing activity (p = <0.0001, R2 = 0.26).Conclusions: We applied a validated SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG ELISA in multiple contexts and performed orthogonal testing on samples. This study demonstrates the utility of a simple serologic assay for detecting prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly as a tool for efficiently testing large numbers of samples as in population surveillance. Our work also highlights that precise understanding of SARS-CoV-2 infection and immunity at the individual level, particularly with wide availability of vaccination, may be improved by orthogonal testing and/or more complex assays such as multiplex bead assays.
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